Monday, January 23, 2017

In the news, Friday, January 6, 2017


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JAN 05      INDEX      JAN 07
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Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.
Some sources may require subscription.

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from BBC News (UK)

US tanks arrive in Germany to help Nato defences
The largest shipment of US brigades since the fall of the Soviet Union is arriving in northern Germany. The first of the 87 tanks and 144 military vehicles were being unloaded in the port of Bremerhaven on Friday. The equipment and 3,500 US troops are to be deployed along Nato's eastern frontier. The deployment aims to allay worries of potential Russian aggression in eastern Europe.

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from CNN

The election of Donald Trump is a stinging reversal of the identity politics that academics believed had become a permanent and proper feature of the United States. It is one reason he won. He should direct that plank straight at the sphere in which identity-sensitivity has been indulged and amplified into the quite illiberal persuasion that it now is.

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from CNSNews.com (& MRC & NewsBusters)

Record 95,102,000 Americans Not in Labor Force; Number Grew 18% Since Obama Took Office in 2009
The government collects payroll taxes from Americans who work, and some of that money is spent on government programs that support people who do not work.

President Barack Obama said Friday that he would publicly support GOP efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare – and encourage Democrats to support it - if their plan is better. “I am saying to every Republican right now: if you in fact can put a plan together that is demonstrably better than what Obamacare is doing, I will publicly support repealing Obamacare and replacing it with your plan, but I want to see it first.”

Slavery was one of the worst periods in the history of the United States of America. That is why Michigan Democrat Rep. John Conyers, along with the Congressional Black Caucus, are pushing for Congress to set up a commission to decide whether black people in this country should receive reparations and an apology from the U.S. government.

Lexington, Kentucky's Fayette County School District Superintendent Manny Caulk has caved in to pressure from a local resident’s social justice warrior petition and has decided to change Frederick Douglass High School’s newly anointed mascot, the Stallion.

A new report from the Charlotte Lozier Institute reveals the abortion industry’s practice of collecting millions in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements for improperly billed procedures and even abortion services, including more than $12 million in payments made to abortion giant Planned Parenthood.

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from Competitive Enterprise Institute

Utah Keeping Amazon Sales Tax Deal Secret
As of the first of this year, Utah joined the ranks of 32 states where Amazon collects sales tax. The e-commerce giant has a physical presence in some of those states, but the others, including Utah, are ignoring the 1992 Supreme Court decision that exempts wholly out-of-state businesses from collecting taxes for states they merely sell into.

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from Conservative Tribune
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

BREAKING: Trump Presidency Becomes Official as Congress Certifies Electoral College Vote
Yesterday, the House certified the Electoral College vote, officially making Trump the President-elect. This is usually just a mere formality, but of course, this vote didn’t pass without more protests and histrionics from the left. It finally prompted Joe Biden to tell the wailing liberals, “It is over.”

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from Defense News

Israeli Satellite Imagery Shows Russian Nuclear-Capable Missiles in Syria
High-resolution imagery released on Thursday confirms what Moscow-watchers and intelligence analysts have known since March of last year: the deployment of Russian nuclear-capable ballistic missiles in Syria.

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from Dennis Michael Lynch

U.N. Shipping “Non Emergency” Refugees to America
The United Nations has sent the majority of transplanted refugees, mostly Syrian, to the United States and only a small group are in actual need of “emergency” protection.

Congressman Removes Painting That Depicts Cops As Pigs
A portrait hanging in the U.S. Capital that depicts police officers as pigs made one Republican congressman so mad that he took it down and returned it to the congressman who allowed it to be displayed. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-CA, and a few of his colleagues unscrewed the portrait from the wall and personally delivered it to the office of Rep. Lacy Clay, D-Mo., the congressman who had it hung there in June.

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from EUobserver

Austria proposes to offshore EU asylum
Austria is seeking to create a new set of EU asylum rules that would offshore applications and impose entry caps for each EU state.

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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Which Is More Accurate, Say’s Law or Keynes’s Law?
Your intuition is wrong. Eeconomies grow not because consumers demand more and are willing to go into debt, but largely because of a willingness of entrepreneurs and businesses to save and invest in new products and technologies – the supply side of the economy. Students almost always get this wrong, until it is explained

How Jesus Exorcized Ancient Collectivism
A counter-cultural force has emerged in history that produces counter-stories that are slowly eroding our dominant collectivist notions of the world. These stories leave their fingerprints on our social norms and desires regardless of our awareness of them and regardless of how collectivist groups fraudulently misappropriate them for their own violent campaigns. These stories are good news for all misfits, indeed, all persons looking for the courage to reject the lie of the crowd that is collectivism. I call it the personhood revolution and its founder is Jesus of Nazareth.

Overpaid Bureaucrats Literally Distort the Entire Economy
Excessive pay for bureaucrats forces private employers to increase pay as well, but in ways that aren’t sustainable based on underlying levels of productivity.

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from First Things

POLITICAL ANIMALS
Our current political problems are rooted in the long and messy history of what makes politics, well, politics. The diversity of American life is an opportunity that presents more danger, and requires more courage, than what we like to admit.

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from Fox News (& affiliates)

Grover Norquist: Why the repeal of ObamaCare means a giant tax cut for the middle class
By passing legislation repealing ObamaCare through budget reconciliation, lawmakers have an opportunity to remove nearly 20 taxes which will save taxpayers more than one trillion dollars over the next decade. Repealing these taxes is a huge win for middle class taxpayers, who were hit with an avalanche of tax increases despite Barack Obama’s “firm pledge” not to sign “any form of tax increase” on any American making less than $250,000. The trillion dollars in higher taxes have restricted health care choice, increased costs, made saving more difficult, and granted government more control over care at the expense of individual control.

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from The Heritage Foundation

New Legislation Could Open Up Health Care Options After an Obamacare Repeal
Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., has introduced a bill in the House that, if passed, will allow individuals to decide how they want their health care funds to be spent, without the influence of the government or health insurance providers. Brat said that the health savings account legislation is a way for lawmakers to prove to the American people that they have a plan to replace Obamacare after repealing it.

Ryan: Reconciliation Bill Will Block Planned Parenthood Funding
Finally, Congress has the opportunity to strip taxpayer funds from the nation's largest abortion provider. The funding would be reallocated to qualified community health care providers—which outnumber Planned Parenthood clinics 20 to 1.

How Trump’s Presidency Could Retool the Auto Industry
By encouraging investment in the U.S. and threatening tariffs on imports, Donald Trump could change the auto industry dramatically.

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from Indian Country Today Media Network

Fighting Big Oil in the Amazon
The struggle against oil in indigenous territory is one of the main themes of an upcoming documentary, Re-Imagining Progress: Voices from the Ecuadorean Amazon, by filmmakers Adam Punzano and Joe Tucker, slated for release in early 2017.

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from MarketWatch

Opinion: The rest of the story: What Obama won’t tell you about his legacy
From the economy to race relations, the president failed to deliver on his promise of hope and change

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from Miami Herald


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from Mic

The Senate just named a supporter of the Dakota pipeline to head its Indian Affairs committee
In a statement Thursday, United States Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) said he is "honored" to serve as the new chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Hoeven — a former North Dakota governor and vocal supporter of both the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines — was elected to lead the committee on Tuesday.

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from Mises Institute
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Money-Supply Growth Accelerates in Late 2016
The supply of US dollars accelerated during late 2016 with October's year-over-year percentage increase in the money supply hitting a 46-month high of 11.2 percent. The YOY growth rate fell slightly to 10.3 percent in November. This comes after a long period of relatively sedate growth in the money supply through most of 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Will Automation Make us Poor?
Automation has become a huge concern in recent years. With computer algorithms getting more and more sophisticated, machines are becoming increasingly able to do jobs that are many people’s bread and butter. The benefit of automation is that it leads to an increase in real wages. This was true 100 years ago, and it is still true today.

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from New Statesman
"The leading voice of the British left, since 1913."

The new divides
The left-right axis is no longer the most important division in politics. Six of our writers explore the new divides.

Is Apple’s “theater mode” – a setting for using your iPhone in the cinema – such a bad idea?

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from The New Yorker

TRUMP, PUTIN, AND THE BIG HACK
How is it possible, if these declassified intelligence reports are true, to count the 2016 Presidential election as unsullied?

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from New York Times

As Donald Trump Denies Climate Change, These Kids Die of It
Droughts caused by global warming have left southern Africa starved for food.

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from Republican National Committee (GOP)

Biden: Senate Democrats Should Give Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee A Vote
Last Night, Vice President Joe Biden Contradicted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's Plan To Deny President Trump A Supreme Court Nominee, Saying That Senate Democrats Should Not Refuse President Donald Trump A Confirmation Vote.

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from The Seattle Times

Ed Murray details $250,000 plan to aid immigrant children once Trump takes office
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray on Friday announced some details of his $250,000 plan to help children from immigrant families navigate what could be a different environment after President-elect Donald Trump takes office.


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from The Spokesman-Review

Sue Lani Madsen: Government regulations bedeviled small business even before minimum wage jump
Last week, a farmer told me he’s dropping his minor work permit. After years of mentoring young employees, he says no more starter jobs for unskilled high school kids. The new higher minimum wage was the last straw, but a whole haystack came first.

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from Zero Hedge
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Americans Couldn't Wait To Ditch These 10 States In 2016
People continue to flee the indebted, pension ponzi burdened liberal states of New England and the Midwest with New Jersey, Illinois, New York and Connecticut all ranking at the very top of the most ditched states of 2016.

City Of Dallas Looks To "Clawback" Ill-Gotten Pension Gains From Police
Almost exactly one month after taking the unprecedented step of suspending withdrawals from the Dallas Police and Fire Pension (DPFP), the Dallas city council is looking to "clawback" what it views as ill-gotten interest payments made to pensioners to the tune of roughly $1 billion.

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In the news, Thursday, January 5, 2017


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JAN 04      INDEX      JAN 06
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Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.
Some sources may require subscription.

________

from Asia Times Online

Trump's economic policies 'cut in both directions'
The second of a three-part series looking at the possible direction of the US economy under Donald Trump. Gary Clyde Hufbauer tells Orla O'Sullivan there are grounds both for optimism and pessimism with regard to whether or not productivity can be boosted

Russia eyes stronger ties with Asia in 2017
Russia is making stronger ties with India, China and other Asian countries a priority in 2017.

China’s high-speed trains turn into ‘smoggy gold’
Even railway transport cannot escape the scourge of smog now blanketing the northern region

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from CFACT
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

In a ruling that provides compelling evidence that Virginia is in dire need of judicial reform, 20th Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey W. Parker (Fauquier County) Dec. 21 dismissed charges brought by farmer Martha Boneta against the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) while allowing Boneta’s case against her neighbors, Phillip and Patricia Thomas, to proceed.

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from CNSNews.com (& MRC & NewsBusters)

MSNBC Host Admits: ‘Bigger Issue’ If ‘Races Swapped’ in Facebook Torture
Anchoring MSNBC’s 1 p.m. ET hour on Thursday, host Craig Melvin acknowledged that had the races been reversed in the brutal Chicago kidnapping and assault broadcast on Facebook Live, the media coverage would be very different.

Krauthammer: Trump Quoting WikiLeaks Founder Assange a ‘Big Mistake’
Despite claims by the U.S. intelligence community, Trump in a series of tweets on Wednesday and Thursday seemed to suggest that he agrees with Assange that Russia did not meddle in the presidential election.

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from Competitive Enterprise Institute

New Congress Needs to Modernize Tech Policy
Lawmakers should avoid imposing new mandates and prohibitions in response to new technologies that might seem threatening, absent exceptional circumstances. Instead, lawmakers should focus their efforts on modernizing—and, in many cases, eliminating—obsolete regulatory regimes that were devised decades ago and depend on the discretion of independent agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission.

House Moves on Regulatory Reform, More Votes Coming
Yesterday afternoon the House of Representatives passed the Midnight Rule Relief Act, which would allow Congress to repeal multiple executive branch rules with a single piece of legislation.

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from Conservative Tribune
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

BREAKING: Dems in Congress Look to Challenge Election Results
In their ongoing attempt to delegitimize President-elect Donald Trump’s presidency, Democrats in Congress are reportedly considering challenging Trump’s electoral victory.

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from EUobserver

Populism is not a coherent transatlantic trend
Analysts have been keen to bundle together the election of Donald Trump in the US and the rise of right-wing populists in Europe. Pew research suggests this is premature.

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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Fake News Is Still Free Speech
We are finally getting what we always wanted – the universal right and opportunity to reach the universe of humanity in an instant with thoughts of our own choosing. And it turns out everyone hates it. Freedom creates conditions under which truth stands a chance to emerge from the clamor. How can we tell truth from untruth in such a chaotic environment? There is no substitute for trusting the individual human mind to sort out what is true news or fake news, valuable information or valueless information, meritorious or useless communication. No authority can substitute for the activity, creativity, and adaptability of the human mind. Welcome to freedom, friends. This is how it works. And it’s beautiful.


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from First Things

MY ORANGE JUICE CAME FROM BRAZIL
I was taught in school that free trade was inherently good, because it provided the most efficient method of producing material goods and services, taking advantage of each country’s comparative advantage. But, what if our modern global economy has erased any notion that a comparative advantage exists today? I contend that three major developments have rendered the idea of comparative advantage obsolete. These three developments are: logistics, communications, and computer-aided everything.

THE JOHN THE BAPTIST OF POST-TRUTH POLITICS
Bill Clinton ushered in the post-truth political world he now decries—the world that made Trump possible. More than any other politician, Clinton prepared the public for the devil’s bargain Trump would later make with his supporters. Having sold their own souls first, the Clintonites are in a poor position to object.

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from The Heritage Foundation

California’s Embarrassing Hire of a Failed Attorney General to Take on Trump
The California Legislature is hiring former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to represent the state in expected fights with the new Trump administration over environmental, immigration, and criminal justice issues.

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from Indian Country Today Media Network

From Serra to Syrah: The Bloody Roots of California’s Vineyards
Mexicans and Americans were worse for Indians in many ways in California

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from Intellihub
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Leftists news outlet declares tens of millions of Trump voters racist in new piece arguing for attacking them at every level.

Obama has seized over 500 million acres in massive federal government land grabs
In 8 years President Obama has taken enough land and water to fill Texas three times over. President Obama’s use of executive land grabs under the Antiquities Act now makes up almost 20 percent of the entire amount of times any president has used the act to bring state land under federal control.

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from KBOI2 (CBS Boise)

Boise Mayor Dave Bieter declares disaster emergency for next 7 days
Boise Mayor David Bieter signed an emergency declaration on Thursday morning in response to the unprecedented amount of snow the city received. The declaration of local disaster emergency goes into effect immediately and will continue through the next seven days.

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from LifeZette (& PoliZette)

Leading Cancer Center Lays Off 1,000
The reasons given on Thursday for laying off nearly 1,000 people at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, one of the nation’s leading cancer centers, are these: Escalating health care costs, the implementation of an electronic health record system, reductions in the reimbursement of care — and expanding health care needs due to the aging of Americans. The layoffs exclude doctors and clinical-care nurses. Some of the jobs will be lost through natural attrition and retirement, while the remaining 800 to 900 job cuts will affect support staff behind the scenes. Research labs may also be affected.

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from New Statesman
"The leading voice of the British left, since 1913."

What causes ice ages – and when is the next one?
Over the last 2.5m years the Earth has undergone more than 50 major ice ages, each having a profound effect on our planet’s climate. But what causes them and how do we predict when the next big ice age will hit?

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from Religion News Service

Norway and its national church part ways
On Jan. 1, the Scandinavian country cut some ties with its Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Norway, rewording the national constitution to change the denomination from “the state’s public religion” to “Norway’s national church.” The change means the nation of just over 5 million people — about 82 percent of them Evangelical-Lutherans — will still fund the church but will no longer appoint its clergy, who will still be considered civil servants.

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from The Spokesman-Review

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from Tribal Tribune (Nespelem, WA)

In early December, a number of news agencies reported seaborne radiation from Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear plant was detected in the Pacific Ocean along on the West Coast. Last year, the Okanagan Nation Alliance found Cesium-134, the so-called fingerprint of Fukushima, in sockeye that had migrated up the Okanogan River to British Columbia. Now, a study by Upper Columbia United Tribes has found trace amounts of radiation in Columbia River sockeye as well as Chinook salmon, UCUT biologist Marc Gauthier said Tuesday to the Colville Business Council’s Natural Resource Committee.

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from Zero Hedge
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

White House: "Too Early To Tell If Chicago Beating Was A Hate Crime"
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at the daily White House briefing that it’s “too early to tell” if the four Chicagoans who kidnapped and tortured a mentally challenged teenager committed a hate crime.

Looting, Riots In Mexico Spiral Out Of Control Over 20% Gas Hike; Hundreds Arrested
Four days after the first sporadic protests emerged in Mexico City, following the infamous "gasolinazo", or mandatory 15%-20% increase in Mexican gas prices which went into effect on January 1, the mood across the country has significantly deteriorated, with hundreds of demonstrators blocking highways, snarling traffic, raiding gas stations, jeopardizing critical supplies, and looting stores as angry but impotent motorists lashed out at the price surge, which is only going to get worse as inflation spikes even more following the record plunge in the Mexican Peso.

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from 100 Percent FED Up
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

HE WAS SO CLOSE: We Were “Obamerica”…We Were More Tolerant…More Guilty…The End Of The 1st And 2nd Amendments Were Only A Clever Campaign Away…And Then America Woke Up
Barack Obama promised hope. He promised change. It took America long enough to figure it out, but when we finally did, we discovered he didn’t have America’s best interests in mind. Outside of the race wars and hate he inspired in our youth, Barack Obama didn’t accomplish a single worthwhile or notable act.

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In the news, Wednesday, January 4, 2017


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JAN 03      INDEX      JAN 05
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Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.
Some sources may require subscription.

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from Being Libertarian
[Information from this site is not reliable.]

Scranton’s Blue City Disease
American Cities from coast to coast are dying on their feet.  Fiscal distress has taken hold and – egged on by reckless spending – has emerged as the heart disease of these once-vibrant communities. The people of Scranton are being taken advantage of, they are being lied to, and they are starting to catch on. We deserve better than this; we’ve been carrying this city on our back for decades, despite the loose fiscal policies and ineptitude of our local government. Scranton has the Blue City Disease, but it can be cured and we believe we know how that can be done.

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from Breitbart

President Obama Awards Himself Distinguished Public Service Medal
On Wednesday, President Obama added another prestigious medal to his Nobel Prize collection when he had Defense Secretary Ash Carter award him with the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

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from Competitive Enterprise Institute

Clayton Must Work for Both Small and Large Investors at SEC
This morning President-elect Trump announced the nomination of attorney Jay Clayton to be the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Clayton, and anyone who goes on to serve on the Commission, must advance the interests of both Main Street investors and entrepreneurs trying to raise capital. Congress has explicitly stated that both investor protection and facilitating capital formation form the dual mission of the SEC.

Environmental Defense Fund Attack Ad Full of Lies about EPA Nominee Scott Pruitt

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from Douglas County Empire Press

Movie about local boy to be shown at United Lutheran Church
WATERVILLE — “Different Drummers,” a 2013 family film based on a true story involving a former Waterville youth, is an inspirational and transcendent film based on the unusual spiritual journey and unlikely friendship of two boys growing up in Spokane in the mid-1960s. Eleven-year-old David Dahlke (portrayed by Ethan Reed McKay), who was born in Waterville, is wheelchair-bound by muscular dystrophy. He is growing progressively weaker, while his 10-year-old friend Lyle Hatcher (portrayed by Brayden Tucker) deals with hyperactivity.

Mansfield author publishes book - Empire Press
Roberta Huston published her first book in December. Finally retired, Huston discovered it was not too late to realize a lifelong dream of writing and publishing. Her first book, “Hannah’s Independence Day,” illustrated by Raquel Rodriquez, is a children’s story. The book is a cautionary tale about personal responsibility during the turn of the century in North Dakota. The story was passed down to Huston by her grandmother when she was a young girl.

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from EUobserver

UK's EU envoy quits over 'muddled thinking' on Brexit
British diplomats must challenge "muddled thinking" and "ill-founded arguments" on Brexit, the UK's ambassador to the EU has said in his resignation letter. Sir Ivan Rogers delivered his thinly veiled criticism of the British government on Tuesday (3 January), quitting his post 10 months before the scheduled end of his mission in Brussels, urging his colleagues to tell the truth to ministers even if they don't want to hear it, and says the UK has no negotiating position yet.

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from The Federalist

For Me, Obamacare Means Paying All Your Own Bills And Never Getting The Doctor You Need
I’m paying for an insurance plan that doesn’t cover the doctors I need to see—and I end up paying for most costs out of pocket anyway.

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from The Heritage Foundation

Schumer Poised to Oppose Trump Supreme Court Nominees
Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate’s new minority leader, has said that he will fight any individuals Trump nominates to serve on the Supreme Court.

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from The Living Church

MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU THOUGHT: ‘DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?’
I can remember the LP album cover. Yes, I know how old that makes me, but the iconic blue-backed Little Drummer Boy is etched on my memory. It was the Harry Simeone Chorale album that popularized the song “The Little Drummer Boy,” but “Do You Hear What I Hear?” was its other influential and well-loved track. My first memories of that song include all the happy Christmases of my childhood. But for songwriters Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker, the song expressed very different ideas. They wrote it in the tensest moment of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962). For them, the song was a desperate plea for the leaders of the world to consider peace and back away from the brink of annihilation. They felt, though probably didn’t know, how close we came to a fiery end.

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from Miami Herald

In the face of Donald Trump’s lies they call the quest for objectivity “fair and balanced.” It’s actually gutless and dumb.

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from Mises Institute
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Ruled by DC: Get the Feds Out of Western Lands
In the final days of his administration, President Obama has decided that with the stroke of pen, he shall further consolidate direct federal control over lands within Western states. Obama's unilateral move to create National Monuments in Western states is simply the natural outcome of allowing federal control of so much land.

The Case Against Fed Reform
This week the 115th Congress was sworn in, and there are some indications that Fed reform may be on the agenda. The combination of populist anger fueled by Ron Paul’s Presidential campaigns and the 2008 financial crisis coupled with the repeated failings of the Federal Reserve to meet their projections has created a rare window for monetary policy to be both politically advantageous, as well as so obviously needed that even politicians can see it. The question now is what sort of reform is on the table.

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from The New American Magazine
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

New Report Exposes Rockefeller Dynasty's Role in “Climate” Scam
In essence, they have largely created, bankrolled, and weaponized what is known as the “green” movement “as a means to expand their empire over the past three decades,” the report found. Suddenly, Trump's having the former CEO of Exxon-Mobil on his cabinet doesn't look stupid. Or anti-planet.

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from SPIEGEL International (Der Spiegel)

Merkel Anticipates Frosty Relations with U.S.
Doubts are growing inside Angela Merkel's Chancellery that the incoming American president will mature and become a statesman. The chancellor is preparing for frosty trans-Atlantic relations while at the same time trying to pull Europe together.

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from The Spokesman-Review

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from Tribal Tribune (Nespelem, WA)

A $650,000 bid to lease 8,320 acres of Colville tribal land for the next 10 years by Timm Brothers Inc. failed to pass through the Colville Business Council’s Natural Resource Committee, Tuesday, following strong resistance at Omak district meetings in recent months.

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from The Wall Street Journal

Donald Trump Plans Revamp of Top U.S. Spy Agency
President-elect works on restructuring Office of the Director of National Intelligence, tweets again his doubts that Russia hacked Democrats. "The view from the Trump team is the intelligence world has become completely politicized. They all need to be slimmed down. The focus will be on restructuring the agencies and how they interact.”

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from Washington Examiner

Dems renew demand for slavery reparations
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus and other Democrats this week re-introduced legislation that would set up a commission to consider whether reparations should be paid to black Americans for slavery.

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In the news, Tuesday, January 3, 2017


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JAN 02      INDEX      JAN 04
________


Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.
Some sources may require subscription.

________

from Asia Times Online

How can the US regain its mojo on R&D?
In the first of a three-part series looking at innovation in the US economy on the cusp of a new era, Orla O'Sullivan asks whether the government ought to do more

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from Capital Press

Washington state’s snowpack looks good
The water outlook is good as snow and moisture accumulate across Washington state.

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from Chronicle of Higher Education

We Know What Works in Teaching Composition
Students needed help developing and deploying their ideas and matching their writing with the expectations of various disciplines.

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from Coeur d'Alene Press

SHAQUILLE O’NEAL CELEBRATES NEW YEAR IN CD’A

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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Why Americans are Getting Dumber and How to Fix It
A fifth-grade math or rhetoric textbook from 1850 would be considered college level material today. The continuing cry for ‘basic skills’ practice is a smoke screen behind which schools preempt the time of children for twelve years. The way out of this problem is to get children out of the institutional mode of schooling. Children in previous generations were encouraged to learn when they were ready and at the pace which they desired. The truth is that reading, writing, and arithmetic only take about one hundred hours to transmit as long as the audience is eager and willing to learn. The trick is to wait until someone asks and then move fast while the mood is on.

Campus and Culture Wars Divert Energy from the Struggle for Liberty Itself
Too many liberty advocates are aiming for the easy targets of “political correctness” while taking their sights off of the true enemy of liberty: those with actual political power. This trend has been accelerating for years, probably because culture wars are fun, generate attention and engagement, and have soft and vulnerable targets. By comparison, the real problem of State power – imposed on the whole of society, not just paying students – is much more difficult. Beating up on politically-correct adolescents and dole-draining immigrants might make for fun in frat houses. It’s an easy habit to pick up; but all of this mockery makes for lousy reform. A good rule of thumb for all those who oppose authoritarianism: always punch up, never down.

Marijuana Legalization Quietly Goes Global
In 2016, Uruguay and Canada legalized and regulated weed, helping to remove the stigma around the use of the plant. But Ireland, Australia, Germany, and Jamaica weren’t far behind, approving laws that recognize medical marijuana.

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from First Things

ROGUE ONE AND THE RETURN OF REVERENCE
Star Wars is—or should be—a religious franchise. The Jedi are a monastic order trained in contemplating and manipulating an omnipresent Force, and in fighting against those who use the Force for evil ends. The crucial question for every character is always spiritual: whether one will choose the “light” or the “dark” side of the Force. Their character arcs involve taking a religious stance toward this mystical energy field. The Star Wars prequels irreverently secularized the Force, making it a controllable entity, measurable and understandable, infinitely use-able. In Rogue One, the Force becomes spiritual once again.

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from The Guardian (UK)
[Information from this site may be unreliable.]

Don’t be fooled, Christmas isn’t over yet – so keep on celebrating
The corporate calendar decrees that Christmas is done with – so it’s up to us to resist, and go on enjoying this special time of year for as long as possible

Archaeologist defies sceptics in pursuit of lost city of Trellech
After facing years of doubts, Stuart Wilson’s claim that he has found medieval city on English-Welsh border is being listened to

No evidence sugar-free soft drinks aid weight loss – study
Academics say no evidence to support perception that ‘diet’ drinks are healthier than full-sugar versions

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from The Heritage Foundation

The Administrative State Has Changed Our Culture. Trump Can Help Reverse Course.
Trump’s greatest challenge as president will likely be taking on this bureaucratic establishment, which has inculcated an entitlement mentality in ever-wider segments of the population.

When Energy Efficiency Rules Hurt the Public and the Environment
The Department of Energy’s proposed furnace rule will actually undermine efficiency goals while increasing costs for U.S. consumers.

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from LifeZette (& PoliZette)

House GOP’s First Blunder of 2017
Rep. Blackburn concedes 'the timing is bad' for gutting ethics oversight body

Trump Weaponizes Twitter — Against GOP
The sting and power of his tweets force Republicans to back down on planned ethics committee revamp

Trump Effect: Ford Scraps Plans for Mexico Plant
Auto manufacturer to invest $700 million in Michigan instead, anticipating better business climate with new president

Trump Goes After General Motors
President-elect warns of consequences for building in Mexico, shipping to America

Trump Admin Can Gut-Check Globalist Institutions
President-elect will have significant leverage to change how the U.S. is treated by UN, WTO

Trump Nominates Robert Lighthizer as U.S. Trade Rep.
Former Reagan official will help president-elect fulfill campaign promise of putting American workers first

Democratic Congressman Compares Trump to Castro
Rep. Steve Cohen sees 'personality traits' shared by president-elect and late Cuban dictator

Assange: Russia Not the Source of Hacked Emails
Says Obama White House trying to 'delegitimize' Trump administration

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from The Living Church

PUTTING THE INCARNATION BACK IN ‘INCARNATIONAL’
The Incarnation is not a principle. It is not just a reminder that God works and speaks through people. It is not primarily a model for ministry. It is the staggering, awe-inspiring good news that the one by whom all things were made came down from heaven for us and for our salvation.

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from Mises Institute
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Why Government Solutions Usually End in Inflation
An essential element of the “unorthodox” doctrines, advanced both by all socialists and by all interventionists, is that the recurrence of depressions is a phenomenon inherent in the very operation, of the market economy. All governments are firmly committed to the policy of low interest rates, credit expansion, and inflation.

There’s a lot of talk these days about the so-called “neutral” (or “natural” or “terminal”) interest rate projections of the Federal Reserve. In fact, their projection of this number is a key argument in their ongoing decision to keep rates at historically very-low levels for what has been an extended period of time. (Specifically, Federal Reserve officials have argued that the neutral interest rate has sharply declined in recent years, meaning that apparently ultra-low interest rates do not really signify easy monetary policy.) The Fed says it can use a "neutral interest rate" to set policy. But, Fed economists don't understand how the neutral rate works.

Colorado was among the four states where voters approved a minimum wage hike in November. Among the specific provisions for the new wage hike was the stipulation that tipped workers — such as waiters who receive tips and are paid below the standard minimum wage — will receive a mandated wage hike of 99 cents. In response to new mandated wage hikes, restaurant owners are likely to raise prices, cut waiter jobs, and move toward less reliance on labor.

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from New York Times

House Republicans, Under Fire, Back Down on Gutting Ethics Office
Lawmakers, facing a storm of bipartisan criticism, including from the president-elect, moved to reverse steps to kill the Office of Congressional Ethics. The reversal came less than 24 hours after House Republicans, meeting in a secret session, voted to curtail the powers of the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent body created in 2008 after a series of scandals involving House lawmakers, including three who were sent to jail.

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from Open Culture

The Largest Historical Dictionary of English Slang Now Free Online: Covers 500 Years of the "Vulgar Tongue"
In October, Green’s Dictionary of Slang became available as a free website, giving you access to an even more updated version of the dictionary. Collectively, the website lets you trace the development of slang over the past 500 years.

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from POLITICO
[Information from this site may not be reliable.]

Inside Trump’s strategy to remodel the Supreme Court
The president-elect is narrowing his short list while his advisers look beyond the current opening.

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from The Spokesman-Review

Starbucks to top McDonald’s as restaurant king, analyst says
Starbucks is poised to overtake McDonald’s as the world’s most valuable restaurant chain, and the coffee giant could ultimately have a staggering 50,000 locations.

Justin Bradford: Harrington School’s size is also its strength

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from UPI News Agency - United Press International
upi.com

House Republicans scrap plans to gut independent ethics panel
1:30 PM  House Republicans scrapped plans Tuesday to gut the independent Office of Congressional Ethics after widespread criticism of the plan, including from President-elect Donald Trump.

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from Yahoo News

Israel's 'flying car' passenger drone moves closer to delivery
After 15 years of development, an Israeli tech firm is optimistic it will finally get its 1,500 kg (1.5 tonne) passenger carrying drone off the ground and into the market by 2020.

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